This week, the podcast got a field trip! Dave went down to EmergeMemphis with mini mp3 recorder in hand to sit down with Eric Mathews of LaunchMemphis, and their special guest of the evening, Melissa Pierce.
A few of our regular expedition folks joined us last night for a screening of Melissa’s new documentary, Life in Perpetual Beta, which explores the ways in which technology and the Internet are changing our culture. Are we more creative now that the Internet has given us an open forum to display our art? Are we more open and authentic? Melissa’s film dives head first into these issues and more. Dave, Eric, and Melissa tackle a few of them with this podcast interview!
After a brief podcast hiatus, we have returned! And with a great interview with Glen Thomas from MLGW. Although the utility company is perhaps not in an industry one would immediately imagine finding much use social media, MLGW has found Twitter to be especially effective as a quick communication tool. They answer questions about outages and billing, and even share links about energy conservation! What had been a faceless utility company now has a voice and personality – and that’s what we love about social media. Find MLGW on Twitter at @MLGW or on Facebook!
Then there’s the 8 million events coming up! First and foremost, we want you to know about the Memphis Screening of the new documentary, Life in Perpetual Beta, sponsored by LaunchMemphis, FuelFilm, and LunaWeb. This crowd-sourced film set out to ask members of the online community for their thoughts on how the internet and technology are shaping modern life and society. On September 29 (that’s THIS Wednesday!), the producer, Melissa Pierce, will be joining us for a Q & A session right after the film. We are so very excited about meeting and talking with Melissa that we actually went out and did our own mini-interviews! We call it Memphis Edition: Life in Perpetual Beta. Check it out on YouTube, then be sure to register for tickets to the event HERE! They’re only $10, but Like the Facebook page to stay updated on upcoming promotions. Then follow Melissa at @melissapierce!
Are you sitting down? Well stand up and get going to one of the multitudinous events happening around the Mid-South! Autumn is BarCamp season, social media is in the air, and many of the tickets are free.
So go! Jonesboro is only an hour or so away, and we’re trying to put together a caravan to go to Birmingham for WordCamp.
But besides our raves about BarCamps, the podcast also includes a great interview with Michael Synk: the business man, the consultant, the book club organizer. In one of his many roles, Michael coordinates the In-Synk Executive Huddle, a peer group for entrepreneurs and CEOs. In the same vein, he has also formed a Business Book Club, which he describes as “the book club for people who don’t have time to read the book.” RSVP here for the next meeting, which is tomorrow, September 3, 8 am at Davis Kidd, when they’ll be reviewing Blue Ocean Strategy.
The Expedition ventures into the world of video with Chris O’Conner and Prodigi Arts! Chris showed our attendees today just how powerful the impact of video can be over a still image. Even adding a little animation to a company logo can add the pizazz needed to make the impression you want. Chris suggested a few tools, including Adobe Premiere, After Effects, and Final Cut for anyone who wants to try their hand at some DIY video. For Dave’s pretty mind mapping of Chris’s presentation (which includes more suggestions for tools and tricks!), click here!
For the core conversation, we split into three groups. One group continued down the video road with Chris, Beth Sanders answered some WordPress questions with another group, and the last huddle compared Foursquare to the brand new Facebook Places. One Expeditioner shared the harrowing tale of a young man who has already faced a solid grounding due to Facebook Places when a friend shared his location, which was not where he told his parents he would be. Facebook, however, definitely has the upper-hand in visibility since even people not using Places are able to see where their friends have checked in right in their feed.
On the WordPress side of the room, the big confusion seemed to lie in the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. For a great explanation of the difference, click here, or better yet, head to LunaWeb TONIGHT for…
